Useful Guides

Essential Reading

The following reports have been carefully prepared to give you a clear and concise easy to read overview of various important topics.

Business succession planning

When the owner or co-owner of a business dies or suffers a serious illness, their family and business partners can be left in a complex situation. In some instances, the business ends up in the wrong hands, in others the business can fail. These issues apply to sole traders, partners and shareholders in limited companies, and all of this can be avoided with some sensible succession planning.

You and yours – estate planning

Of all aspects of financial planning, estate planning is usually the one most people put off. It requires you to consider what will happen when your life is over, hardly something most of us rush to contemplate. Consequently, estate planning often becomes, and all too often remains, a do-it-tomorrow task. When it could suddenly become all-important… it might be too late. After all, accidents and illness and do happen.

Pensions and tax planning for high earners

If you feel you are paying more and more tax, you are not alone. More than one in seven of income tax payers are taxed at the higher or additional rate and they pay about two thirds of all income tax. This rising tax burden for higher earners has been a deliberate policy of successive governments. Note the fact that the thresholds for phasing out the personal allowance and the start of the additional rate tax threshold have both been unchanged since they came into force in April 2010.

Living abroad – the main tax rules

While the thought of going abroad to work or retire may be exciting, the months
prior to departure may be highly stressful. Finding somewhere to live in your chosen country, arranging the necessary visas and booking a suitable removal firm are just some of the issues you are likely to have to deal with.

Saving for retirement

Retirement is something most of us look forward to − particularly on a Monday
morning. However, those thoughts are often little more than a whimsical cocktail of not having to work and prolonged holidays. The reality could be rather different, particularly if your retirement date is some way off.

The financial planning journey

A good financial planner should be a trusted partner who can help you achieve your financial aspirations, and protect those you care for in the event of disaster. Despite the significant value that a financial planner can add, most people don’t really know what financial planners actually do. The aim of this guide is to explain the process in general terms, and what financial planning can achieve for you. Some of the important changes to pensions and ISAs in recent years have made the need for financial planning even more crucial.

Taking income at retirement

There comes a time when you stop working for your money and put your money to work for you. For most people, that is retirement. The decisions you make then could have repercussions for the rest of your life, and in recent years, there have been some major changes to the retirement choices you can make with your pensions. That retirement could turn out to last considerably longer than you think, as the table below shows.

Investing tax-efficiently

The taxation of investments has never been a simple matter. In recent years, it has become more complex as successive governments have chosen to tax different sources of investment income in different ways, mostly with the aim of adding to the Exchequer’s coffers.

Financial protection – for you and your family

Most people’s finances are like a house of cards, with their ability to earn an income acting as the bottom row. Everything else rests upon this bottom layer and, should the worst happen and your income stop, the whole house can come tumbling down. Life and health insurance protection underpins most good financial planning. These types of insurance can ensure that, if the worst should happen, the right amount of money will reach the right hands at the right time.

Investing for children

Most parents want to help their children financially, whether it is making sure there is enough money for their education or helping them to buy a property. An early objective may well be to help children understand the value and importance of money.

Investment planning and asset allocation

Investment planning is now more of a science rather than an art. Technology, ever increasing investment opportunities and stricter regulation have all encouraged a more scientific approach. But has your investment strategy kept pace?

Making the most of ISAs

Taxation of property

You may have been lucky enough to inherit rental property or be in the position to purchase property outright. However, buying-to-let is the usual way of becoming a landlord, and it is an attractive proposition for anyone who can raise a deposit. Given a prolonged period of low borrowing costs and generally rising property values, this is not surprising. There has also been a perceived lack of good alternatives, with low savings rates and restrictions on the amount that can be saved into a pension.

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